VUOKKINIEMI (VOKNAVOLOK) AND KALEVALA NATIONAL PARK

UNIQUE NATURE, LOCAL CULTURE AND LIVELIHOOD

VUOKKINIEMI is a village of ab. 500 inhabitants. Some 40 students go to school, about 20 young villagers have finished school, but stay in the village.

There are ab. 60 jobs in the village, most of them provided by Kostomuksha District. Sawmill has seasonally up to 12 workers.A great amount of Kalevala runas

were collected in Vuokkiniemi Volost.

Kalevala National Park was established 2006-7 between the village and Finnish boarder. Several attempts have been made to strenghten the village as a centre of tourism and culture for the park.

BACKGROUND

Kalevala National Park- Vienansalo, village forests, a goal for revitalisation of North

Karelian villages- Proposal of a park consisting of three small area, 30 000 ha- NGO:s bring up the issue 1994 (Boarder zone forests)- WWF starts mappings 1995, aiming at one larger area- Mappings by Finnish – Russian Nature Protection Group 1996,

GP demonstrates against loggings - Life-project (Northern Ostrobothnia Environment Centre)1997- KRC mappings 1997, also Luonto—Liitto, GP, Sosio-Eclogigal

Union and Forest Club Russia

VILLAGERS SUPPORT THE PARK- Summer 2003 the Park area planned to be rented out for

loggings, only small area around Vnehjärvi (sudnozero) to be protected

- Locals collect names against renting, negotiations follow, park territory defined

- City of Kostomuksha, NGO:s and nature conservation ofiicials hurry the decision to establish the park

- Federal reservstion forKalevala National Park 1998, 104 000 ha

- Karelian Parks –tacis87 000 ha, 2000-2001

- Karelian govenment, aggreement 2003, 74 400 ha

”FOREST IS EVERYTHING, FOOD AND SHELTER.”

”What about if we old women made a banderoll, and stood there at the cemetery with it shouting: ”Leave us at least timber for coffins!”

Late Olga Lesojeva

”If we had all the money taken from the forest to ourselves, we would have a school made of gold”.

Galina Vatanen, vice-director of the school

”We do not like being clowns.”Raija Saprudzkaja, provides bed and breakfast

”Tourist is a funny creature, he wants to see exotic things, but wants it to be like at home.”

Santeri Lesonen, tourist enterpreneur

EXAMPLES OF PAST ACTIVITIES

A CURRICULUM PROJECT

Before opening the workshops, a school curriculum project was run. The curriculum aims at better knowledge of local nature and culture and better life in the village.

A part of curriculum project was to arrange workshop days to learn traditional and new skills. Finnish and karelian artesans and local masters were recruted to teach.

RANGER TRAINING BY METSÄHALLITUS

In the autumn 2004 and spring 2005 a pilot course of ranger work was arranged in Vuokkiniemi. Boys and young men attended.

Trainers were from Finland and from Vuokkiniemi. Some young men have continued training on this field.

WORKSHOPS

WOOD CRAFTS AND RESTAURATION

TEXTILE CRAFTS AND HOME MAKING

CULTURE AND PROGRAM

NEIGHBOURHOOD PROJECTDistrict of Kostamus AND Suomussalmi municipality together with several partners are running a Neighbourhood programme project to rebuild old school of Vuokkiniemi to be a village house. Similar project will be run in Suomussalmi in Kuivajärvi village.

Vuokkiniemi village house shall house space for youth workshops and serve as a resource for village activities and Kalevala national park.

Vuokkiniemi

Kostamus

Suomussalmi

Kuivajärvi

GOALS:

- to rebuild the old schoolhouse to serve as a village house

- to repair Domnan Pirtti in Kuivajärvi, suomussalmi (a centre for North Karelian culture)

- to develope and strengthen the youthworkshops

- develope touristic activities based on nature and locality

- to build connections between youngpeople, entrereneurs, craftsmen etc

- to build capacity for own planning and new iniciatives

CULTURAL EVENTS

TIMBER WORK TRAINING

Key persons of the village visiting a village house in Kajaani

VILLAGERS ARE ACTIVE

A cooperative ”Hospitality of Vuokkiniemi” was established past summer. They aim at supporting youth and enterprices, developing services for tourism and ”teaching those drunks”.

TRAININGWorkshop keepers have been attending several training events andworking together with yout workhops in Finland. Haapavesi Humanistic Institute trains Vuokkiniemi teachersand workshop leaders together with their own students.

FUTURESUMMER ACTIVITIES

KANTERE COURSE

INHABITING THE VILLAGE HOUSE

PILOT COURSE OF GUIDING

LESSONS LEARNED, ACHIEVEMENTS- connections- visibility- skills of cooperation and planning- courage, self esteem- modells of success and acheving

STRENGTHS

- based on local needs and will- working towards common goal- small scale- continuity and continuum- National Park brings new visions- safe: not much to loose

THANKS FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHS

Kainuun Etu, Kari Seppänen, Anna-Liisa Helttunen, Ilmari Schepel, Martti Kolkka, Jussi Väliaho, Eero Korva,

Metsähallitus, Tuija Yli-Pelkonen, Valentina Lipkina, Tuula Heikkinen